Donald Trump quiet on Twitter after account reinstated

Two days after Twitter chief executive Elon Musk reinstated Donald Trump's Twitter account, the former US president — who tweeted throughout his tenure in office — remained silent on Monday.

Several high-profile accounts such as that of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, were also restored.

Posting from an iPhone on Sunday, the music artist first tested that he was unblocked before posting a “Shalom" reference, after his earlier suspension for an anti-Semitic tweet.

His account had been temporarily suspended and restored at the end of last month, which Mr Musk said was not his decision.

Mr Musk responded to Ye’s initial message by tweeting: “Don’t kill what ye hate, Save what ye love.”

The billionaire Twitter owner’s courtship of the network’s controversial figures — besides himself — threatens to further alienate advertisers, who have been wary about associating their brands with the service in recent times.

Twitter’s new leader, who is also chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, spent the weekend polling his followers on the platform over whether to restore Mr Trump, who was permanently suspended for inciteful tweets about the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

Fifty-two per cent responded in the affirmative and Mr Trump is now clear to return — although he has said he will stick to his own social network, Truth Social.

Previously, Mr Musk had said Twitter would establish new procedures and a “content moderation council” before making decisions to restore suspended accounts.

“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Mr Musk tweeted, using a Latin phrase meaning 'the voice of the people, the voice of God'.

Mr Musk seems bent on emphasising it was the choice of the people, regardless of the fact that internet polls can be easily manipulated with the use of bots and fake accounts.

Mr Trump's agreement with Truth Social includes an obligation to give the platform a six-hour exclusive on any post.

But he is free to post "political messaging, political fund-raising or get-out-the-vote efforts" on any site, at any time, according to an SEC filing in May.

Shortly after the poll, Mr Trump’s account, which had earlier appeared as suspended, reappeared on the platform complete with his former tweets, more than 59,000 of them.

On Saturday, during a video speech to a Republican Jewish group meeting in Las Vegas, he said he was aware of Mr Musk’s poll but that he saw "a lot of problems at Twitter".

“It may make it, it may not make it,” he added, apparently referring to Twitter’s recent internal upheavals.

One account Mr Musk pledged never to reinstate was that of far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has been fined more than $1 billion for false and distressing claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook primary school shooting had been faked.

"My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat," Mr Musk wrote, referring to the loss of his 10-week-old son through sudden infant death syndrome in 2002.

"I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame."

News agencies contributed to this report

A look at former president Donald Trump's Truth Social feed - in pictures